Ground flare

ABSTRACT

A ground flare is provided for incinerating waste combustible gas from refineries and the like in which the waste gases are conducted underground to and through horizontal gas supply pipes on which vertical gas supply pipes having nozzles at their upper ends are mounted. The nozzles deliver the gases for burning within a refractory lined vertical rectangular enclosure to which air is admitted at the bottom and the products of combustion discharged at the top, the flare being free from operating difficulties heretofore encountered.

[451 Nov. 21, 1972 6/1931 'Frank........................43l/179 [54]GROUND FLARE [72] Inventor: John F. Straitz, llI, Cheltenham, Pa.

Primary Examiner--Carroll B. Dority, Jr. AttorneyZachary T. Wobensmith,2nd

Unlimited, Incorporated, Elkins Park, Pa.

May 17, 1971 [73] Assignee: Combustion ABSTRACT A ground flare isprovided for incinerating waste com- 22 Filed:

211 App]. No.: 143,947

bustible gas from refineries and the like in which the waste gases areconducted underground to and [52] US. through horizontal gas Supplypipes on which Vertical [51] Int. 179 g pp y pip having nozzles at theirpp ends are [58] Field of Search..............

mounted. The nozzles deliver the gases for burning within a refractorylined vertical rectangular enclosure to which air is admitted at thebottom and the [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS products ofcombustion discharged at the top, the

- flare being free from operating difficulties heretofore 2,971,6052/1961 Frost et al..'................43l/202 encountered. 3,501,2553/1970 Greene......................43l/202 8/1969 .431/188 3,463,602Bitterlich et al. 6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures l I I I 47 4 4/ 7 ,1 7

I l I 1 1 1/7 I PATENTEnnuvzllmz 3.703.349

. wwavme 3 JOHN F. STRMTZ 111 GROUND FLARE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIOgas from refineries and the like. A commonly used structure forthispurpose comprised a central gas pipe of a diameter in the range from 24to 30 inches, surrounded by a large insulated cylinder of the order of30 feet in diameter and from 15 to 30 feet in height. The majorobjectionto-this design is that the-gas being burned is concentrated in onecentral area with inadequate surface areafor mixing air for combustionwith the gas. The diffusion of the gas and air has a great legs, withflame retention rods above the upper end of each of the gas deliverypipes. With this structure, serious' mechanical problems arise becauseof thermal expansion. The stainless steel gas manifold that feeds thesmaller gas nozzle is adversely eflected by radiation on. the top of themanifold which passes through the insulation, and it tendsto heat up thetop of the pipe. The lower section of the manifold has no thermalradiation from it so that differential expansion occurs and themanifoldtends to bow. The use of insulation'on the manifold has notproven to be effective.

The flame retention rods referred to above are usually of a length of-30 to 40 feet. These rods have a very short life because of theirtendency to burn up and involve difficulties as to their mounting andsupport and their tendency to bow because of thermal expansion.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A ground flare is provided for incineratingcombustible waste gases from refineries and the like which is free fromdifficulties encounteredwith prior systems, which eliminates themechanical problems attendant upon thermal expansion, which provideseffective incineration of the waste gas over a wide operating range andwhich is simple in construction. For this purpose the waste gas isconducted underground through a plurality of horizontal gas supply pipeswhich are provided with vertical gas delivery pipes each having a burnerhead thereon. The burner heads are within a refractory lined verticalrectangular enclosure open at the bottom for the supplying of air forcombustion and open at the top for discharge of burned gases.

It is the principal object of the invention to provide a ground flarewhich is simple in construction, effective in its operation, and whichwill be free from the thermal expansion and other operating difficultiespreviously encountered.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a groundflare for incineration of waste gas which doe not project flame into theair to great heights as previously carried out.

Other objects and advantageous features of the invention will beapparent from the description and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The nature and characteristic featuresof the invention will be more readily understood from the followingdescription'taken in connection with the accompanying drawings formingpart thereof, in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a ground flare in accordance with theinvention, parts being shown schematically;

' FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken approximately on the line2--2 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view, enlarged, taken approximately-on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

It should, of course, be understood that the description and drawingsherein are illustrative merely and that various modifications andchanges can be made in the structure disclosed without departing fromthe spirit of the invention.

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now more particularlyto the drawings, a waste gas supply pipe 10 is preferably buriedunderground at a depth of about 1 to 2 feet and which has connectedthereto horizontal branch pipes 11, each controlled, if desired, by avalve 12 and preferably disposed at the same depth as the pipe 10.

Each branch pipe 11 has connected thereto and extending verticallyupwardly therefrom a plurality of spaced partially buried nozzle supplypipes 13, extending above ground a distance of the order of more than 2feet and carrying nozzles 14 on their upper ends.

The nozzles 14 can be of any suitable type but it has been foundadvantageous to employ nozzles as disclosed in Bitterlich, US. Pat. No.3,463,602, and with which the gas is discharged through ports inclinedwith respect to the vertical longitudinal axis and at an angle to thehorizontal radius through the burner head.

The nozzles 14, in a specific embodiment, can be in rows and columns andon 6-inch centers.

A rectangular enclosure 20 is provided preferably having opposite pairsof vertical metal end and side walls 21 and 22 with ceramic refractorylinings 23.

The end walls 21 can range in length from 4 to 50 feet and the sidewalls 22 can range in length from 8 to feet depending upon the requiredcapacity of the installation.

The enclosure 20 is supported on legs 25 which may be part of theframing of the walls 21 and 22, to provide openings 26 of the order of 2feet high for access of air for combustion.

The enclosure 20 for the range of dimensions stated for the walls 21 and22 may be of a height of the order of 20 feet.

The mode of use will now be pointed out.

Combustible waste gas is delivered through the gas supply pipe 10, andthe branch pipes 11 and the nozzle supply pipes 13 to the nozzles 14 andtherefrom through the nozzles 14 in a whirling upwardly directed patternfor burning. Air induced through the bottom openings 26 supports thecombustion which is effected turbulently with excellent mixing of thecombustible gas and air by reason of the action of the nozzles 14 andthe shape of the enclosure 20 which provides good internal airdistribution. At the same time the gas for combustion is spread over arelatively large area, horizontally considered.

The combustion is rapidly effected so that the flame is contained withinthe enclosure 20 and thermal radiation from the flame is confinedthereby reducing heat and light delivery.

The ground flare, by reason of its construction, can be operated over awide range of capacities with better tumdown ratio and higher stability.

I claim:

1. A ground flare for use on the ground comprising a supply pipedisposed beneath the surface of the ground,

a plurality of horizontally disposed branch pipes disposed beneath thesurface of the ground and connected to said supply pipe,

a plurality of nozzle supporting pipes extending upwardly from each ofsaid branch pipes and with upper portions extending above the surface ofthe ground and disposed in rows,

a gas delivery nozzle on the upper end of each of said supporting pipes,and

an enclosure having vertical walls with their lower ends spaced abovethe ground for access of air to the interior and being open at the topfor discharge of products of combustion,

said nozzles being disposed within said enclosure for delivering saidgas for admixture with said air for combustion within said enclosure.

2. A ground flare as defined in claim 1 in which said enclosure isrectangular in horizontal cross section.

3. A ground flare as defined in claim 1 in which said nozzles aredisposed in rows and columns.

4. A ground flare ad defined in claim 1 in which said nozzles havingnozzle openings to discharge said gas upwardly and outwardly in aconical pattern for admixture with the interior air.

5. A ground flare ad defined in claim 1 in which said walls are metallicwith interior ceramic refractory linings. I

6. A ground flare as defined in claim 1 in which said nozzles aredisposed above the lower ends of said vertical walls.

1. A ground flare for use on the ground comprising a supply pipedisposed beneath the surface of the ground, a plurality of horizontallydisposed branch pipes disposed beneath the surface of the ground andconnected to said supply pipe, a plurality of nozzle supporting pipesextending upwardly from each of said branch pipes and with upperportions extending above the surface of the ground and disposed in rows,a gas delivery nozzle on the upper end of each of said supporting pipes,and an enclosure having vertical walls with their lower ends spacedabove the ground for access of air to the interior and being open at thetop for discharge of products of combustion, said nozzles being disposedwithin said enclosure for delivering said gas for admixture with saidair for combustion within said enclosure.
 1. A ground flare for use onthe ground comprising a supply pipe disposed beneath the surface of theground, a plurality of horizontally disposed branch pipes disposedbeneath the surface of the ground and connected to said supply pipe, aplurality of nozzle supporting pipes extending upwardly from each ofsaid branch pipes and with upper portions extending above the surface ofthe ground and disposed in rows, a gas delivery nozzle on the upper endof each of said supporting pipes, and an enclosure having vertical wallswith their lower ends spaced above the ground for access of air to theinterior and being open at the top for discharge of products ofcombustion, said nozzles being disposed within said enclosure fordelivering said gas for admixture with said air for combustion withinsaid enclosure.
 2. A ground flare as defined in claim 1 in which saidenclosure is rectangular in horizontal cross section.
 3. A ground flareas defined in claim 1 in which said nozzles are disposed in rows andcolumns.
 4. A ground flare ad defined in claim 1 in which said nozzleshaving nozzle openings to discharge said gas upwardly and outwardly in aconical pattern for admixture with the interior air.
 5. A ground flaread defined in claim 1 in which said walls are metallic with interiorceramic refractory linings.